


King and Lionheart

by taztaas (ainonoai)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Great liberties taken with elven aging, I wrote this is one sitting, Kravitz is a half-drow, Non-graphic attempted sexual assault of a child, Semi-graphic violence, Unspecified fantasy war, Unspecified fantasy world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 14:06:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12749832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainonoai/pseuds/taztaas
Summary: In a land razed by war, in a town filled with rotten people, Kravitz finds purpose.Inspired by the song King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men.The warnings are just to be safe. See the notes for detailed description of content.





	King and Lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that in this fic there is a scene in which an adult man attempts to sexually assault an elven child. It's not graphic and there are only a few mentions of the act but be careful. There is also a scene in which someone is stabbed and his neck is slashed. It's also not very graphic besides the mentions of blood, but just so you know.  
> I wrote this in one sitting, I was inspired by the song King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men. Check it out, if you wanna. I'm on tumblr @taztaas
> 
> The italics are excerpts from the song!

 

> _Howling ghosts they reappear_
> 
> _In mountains that are stacked with fear_
> 
> _But you're a king and I'm a lionheart_

 

**A long time ago:**

Kravitz was prowling the back alleys of the city, staying out of way and out of sight. Being a half-elf and more specifically half drow made his life worth very little if nothing at all. He was scrawny, dirty and by elven standards still a child. He had nothing besides his name, given to him by his mother before her death, the tattered clothes on his back and his miserable life, to which he hung on to out of mere spite. There was nothing keeping him alive besides his perseverance.

 

Stepping out of a narrow alley onto a slightly larger one, Kravitz saw a sight the likes of which he had seen too many times already. A large human man grabbing at the clothes of a struggling child, about Kravitz’s age, his intentions obvious. Apparently, the workers of the red light district weren’t to his taste. Kravitz’s expression soured. The war had made people desperate and depraved. All kinds of unsavory characters were crawling out of the woodwork and taking whatever they wanted, whatever they could. Kravitz felt a bit sick but he steeled his heart and turned on his heels to leave. There was no reason for him to get involved, nothing good would come out of it. He was just a kid, what could he do. And it was not like the situation was unfamiliar to him, and he had survived. A bit more broken but still.

 

Right as Kravitz entered back into the alley, the man behind him cursed loudly and the alley echoed with the sound of a large fist hitting flesh and bone. Already safe and hidden in the shadows between the buildings, something compelled Kravitz to take a glance behind him, to look at the scene once more.

 

He saw an elven boy sitting up from the ground, wiping blood from his face and grimacing with bloody teeth. The man was looming above him, fist still clenched and Kravitz saw that there were teeth marks on the man’s hand. The elf spat blood - his own or his assailant’s, Kravitz didn’t know - but he caught the other boy’s eye and started in surprise. His eyes were bright and mismatched, the other sky blue and other grass green, and instead of horror, Kravitz saw burning rage and defiance in those eyes. For a second that felt like much longer, he looked at Kravitz with a heavy glare, but not really accusing, like he wasn’t even expecting help. Their shared moment in time was broken when the human punched the elf again, hard enough to snap his head to the side, dirty golden hair whipping with the movement. The large man positioned himself on top of the boy and Kravitz heard the boy fervently cuss the man out in elvish before he was silenced.

 

Something burned in Kravitz’s chest and bubbled in his throat. He had seen awful things like this a thousand times, had had them happen to himself a hundred times, but he hadn’t ever felt anger like this. It made his bones tremble. Oh, how he hated this cruel world and its cruel people. He felt his blood boiling. There was nothing good left for him to care about, himself included but seeing this young elf, much like himself, he felt kinship. He was not going to let this… this monster, this worthless pig destroy the life of a kid who still had some life, some spark inside of him.

 

Kravitz stepped out of the alley again, quietly. With a quick glance around he saw that the three of them were alone, there was no one else around. He noticed a small dagger on the ground, elven it looked like. The elf must’ve dropped it. Kravitz heard the sound of fabric tearing, and he quickly swept towards the dagger and grabbed it. He dashed towards the pair on the ground and with all his strength, slammed against the human’s side, pushing the dagger into his stomach. The man was caught with his pants down, literally and figuratively and he fell to his side with a shout. In an instance, Kravitz was on top of him. He clutched the dagger with determined hands and slit the man’s throat with little finesse. Blood spurted onto his hands, his chest and his face and he was frozen. The human under him gurgled, dying, and Kravitz… Kravitz stared at the blood on his hands. He hadn’t ever killed anything before and now he had killed a man. A person.

 

Kravitz saw movement in the corner of his eye and turned to look. The elf he just rescued was fussing with his clothes, trying to get himself covered the best he could despite the torn fabrics. He finished quickly, turned to Kravitz, barely sparing him a glance and grabbed the bloody dagger off his hands. He quickly examined the dead man’s belt, finding a coin purse and slashing it off with his dagger. He wiped the blade clean on the body’s clothes before depositing in under his belt, sticking the purse there also. The blood on Kravitz’s face was cooling unpleasantly and he wiped it off with his sleeve.

 

The elf next to him stood up straight and looked at Kravitz. And again, Kravitz saw that spark of life in his eyes, that defiance which he felt warming up his own heart. He offered his hand to Kravitz, who reached out in response. The elf grabbed his wrist sharply, tugged him up onto his feet and took off running, dragging Kravitz behind him. As they fled the scene, Kravitz struggled to get his head and thoughts in order. What had just happened had been more earth-shattering that he ever could’ve thought. He had wandered for so long, struggled to stay on this earth with an empty, hollow feeling in his chest and now in this dirty back corner of the city, he had saved someone’s life. And that someone had so much life in him that Kravitz felt it bear down on himself. If he had no other meaning on this earth, he was going to make this new life that had been breathed into him count. He was going to protect the one that gave it to him.

 

“You got a name?” The boy asked, still running and leading Kravitz through the winding alleys between the buildings.

“Kravitz.”

“Taako.” The other acknowledged, but he didn’t turn to look behind him and kept going instead. Kravitz’s clothes were generously soaked in red and Taako too had some blood on him, so they had to stay out of sight to avoid suspicion.

 

Taako took Kravitz to his hiding place, a crack in the ramparts near the smithy. The forge gave off enough heat to reach the little space Taako called his own, so it was okay even in winter, despite the cold stone. It wasn’t a home, but it was where he slept and kept his things. Kravitz had no possessions, but Taako pointed out a spot for him to sleep. He was glad to have a place to stay, and he was glad to have Taako.

 

Taako never thanked him for that time, but Kravitz didn’t expect him to, didn’t need him to. The elf gave him so much in exchange that Kravitz felt indebted for all eternity, and that was fine.

 

Sometimes Taako liked to talk. Kravitz learned that Taako had had a sister, a twin, with eyes like his but the colors opposite. Their parents had used to joke about them getting their eyes mixed up in the womb. Taako had lost her a long time ago. About his parents, he said nothing more.

 

Kravitz told Taako about himself. His mother had been a human, a slave to a drow that forcibly bedded her. She had grown steadily weaker after his birth until she died. He stayed in his birthplace and worked to earn his keep until he was old enough to run away.

 

Taako taught him magic. It was more difficult for him that it was for Taako, because his elven blood was weaker, and magic came from blood, from the inside. Taako told him that. But he was determined and Taako seemed happy to teach him so he persisted and in time, he learned.

 

Kravitz dedicated himself to protecting their life, to protecting Taako. Sometimes Taako got angry with him, with his disregard for his own life. Taako insisted he could take care of himself and Kravitz knew it was true, but he felt like this was what he was meant to do. It was his new purpose. Taako never said it outright, but Kravitz knew he cared for him, that he needed him. They had nothing, but now they had each other and that was how it would stay. They struggled, they stole, they learned. They spent winters huddled together under the sorry excuse for a blanket they had. They spent summers wandering outside the city walls, dreaming of leaving.

 

**Now:**

Standing on a cliff, overlooking the city they had grown up in, were too young men wearing dark, heavy cloaks meant for travel. The other was an elf, with long golden hair, brown freckled skin, mismatched eyes and an unreadable expression. Next to him was a half-elf, dark skinned with black hair tied in a loose bun at the back of his neck and reddish brown eyes taking in the sight of the city before them. He reached out to his companion, grabbing his hand but keeping his gaze forward. The elf didn’t otherwise react but squeezed his hand back, causing a small smile bloom on the half-elf’s face. After a while the other spoke, his voice quiet but determined.

 

“Let’s go, Kravitz.”

“Yes.”

 

 

> _And as the world comes to an end_
> 
> _I'll be here to hold your hand_
> 
> _Because you're my king and I'm your lionheart_

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Protection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13161927) by [taztaas (ainonoai)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainonoai/pseuds/taztaas)




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